Well, I will be stepping on some toes, however, Christ said one needed to be born from above... the ‘fallen’ angels refused to be born of woman... they along with the ‘son’ of perdition have already been judged to death.
Taking this flesh journey is the first requirement to ‘see’ the kingdom of God. I cannot find in the Scripture any judged to death of the soul/spirit will be caught up unaware of that end.
I think a study of Elijah is required to understand the ‘spirit’ of Elijah.. and how John came in that spirit... not same individual but were sent to preach the same... Word of the Lord..
Let’s read John 3
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born[c] from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’
the phrase ‘born from above’ or ‘born again’ (John 3:3) is clarified as ‘being born of water and Spirit’ (John 3:5).
In Greek, this phrase is, literally, “born of water and Spirit,” indicating one birth of water-and-Spirit, rather than “born of water and of the Spirit,”
In the water-and-Spirit rebirth that takes place at baptism, the repentant sinner is transformed from a state of sin to the state of grace. Peter mentioned this transformation from sin to grace when he exhorted people to “be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
The context of Jesus’ statements in John 3 makes it clear that he was referring to water baptism. Shortly before Jesus teaches Nicodemus about the necessity and regenerating effect of baptism, he himself was baptized by John the Baptist, and the circumstances are striking: Jesus goes down into the water, and as he is baptized, the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends upon him in the form of a dove, and the voice of God the Father speaks from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son” (cf. Matt. 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22; John 1:30–34). This scene gives us a graphic depiction of what happens at baptism: We are baptized with water, symbolizing our dying with Christ (Rom. 6:3) and our rising with Christ to the newness of life (Rom. 6:4–5); we receive the gift of sanctifying grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27); and we are adopted as God’s sons (Rom. 8:15–17).
After our Lord’s teaching that it is necessary for salvation to be born from above by water and the Spirit (John 3:1–21), “Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized” (John 3:22).
, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3–4).
Not my toes. :) I merely pointed out what’s there, so no personal opinion/ego involved that could become offended.
The Way of the Patriarchs is on the ground, but not of this world.
Heh, it’s even literal - Highway 60 in Israel, going right on up through “disputed territory” - that’s its name, the “Way of the Patriarchs”.
The number on the signage even looks like the word “GO”. Now maybe I’m the only one who sees “GO” on the sign, but it’s the simple meaning regardless of the physical signage, so I point it out to anyone else who might be interested.
I saw the “GO” because it’s what the Book records about the man Abram who couldn’t wait to pack his bags so to speak:
Genesis 12
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
In fact, the Bible begins with a pun on “Go”:
“In the beginning, Go...”
Somebody out there might accuse me of something for cutting off a letter , but I’m not disputing the actual text. Fact is though, “In the beginning go” is a simple, obvious statement about starting anything — gotta move forward. It appears right there in the beginning, so I couldn’t help but notice.
It’s like the explanation of work (physics) that kids learn in school (or used to, anyway): push on an object all day long.. expend great effort.. work up a sweat. But if that object didn’t budge, no work was done.
Have a great day!